Self harm and suicide amongst children and young people in Knowsley a collaborative workforce development project in partnership with Knowsley council and Knowsley clinical Commissioning Group

Foster, CORCID: 0000-0002-5005-5419, Allen, S and Rayner, GC
2013,
Self harm and suicide amongst children and young people in Knowsley a collaborative workforce development project in partnership with Knowsley council and Knowsley clinical Commissioning Group
, Project Report,
UNSPECIFIED, University of Salford.
(Unpublished)

Abstract

This executive summary provides an overview of the findings of the comprehensive practice orientated literature review undertaken by the Knowsley Self Harm and Suicide Amongst Young
People workforce project team at the University of Salford. The emerging themes important to the
future development of practice recommendations for standards of practice across the domains of
individual clinical practice, operational service delivery & service design are presented, followed by
the completed project outputs that were developed from these recommendations. A summary of
further actions agreed by the Knowsley locality in order to continue to process of implementation
beyond the life of the project, is provided.
The full literature review, presented later in the project report is based on a review and synthesis of
a comprehensive search and critical review of quantitative and qualitative research, in the field of
self-harm and suicide in children and young people, with specific and related policies, clinical
guidelines, expert clinical opinion and relevant organisational briefings.
Issues of language, definition and the sensitive application of these have been identified as
important precursors to effective organisational strategies for addressing the issue of self-harm and
suicide (R. Coll. Psych., 2010; Allen 2007). For the purpose of this report the definition adopted in
the NICE clinical guidelines for the management of self-harm (2011; 2004) will be utilised: An expression of personal distress, usually made in private, by an individual who hurts him
or herself. The nature and meaning of self-harm, however, vary greatly from person to person. In
addition, the reason a person harms him or herself may be different on each occasion and should not
be presumed to be the same.